Washington Nationals: Phillies’ Strategy Against Bryce Harper Pays Off
Check out our three takeaways from last night’s Washington Nationals 4-3 loss to the Phillies
After sweeping the Minnesota Twins over the weekend, the Washington Nationals (14-5) were back in action last night against the Philadelphia Phillies (10-10). It was a good pitching matchup on paper between Vincent Velasquez and Max Scherzer.
However, the Washington Nationals did not get a dominant performance from Scherzer. The Nats’ ace had his first inning struggles once again and the Phillies’ top of the order did their damage against Nats’ pitching, going 5-for-14 with a home run and three runs scored.
Nevertheless, even though Scherzer wasn’t dominant, he kept the offense in the game and they did get three runs against Velasquez, including two in the fifth inning. Plus, the team manufactured a run in the second on a sacrifice bunt by Danny Espinosa.
Scherzer still had a quality start, but the Washington Nationals ended up losing the game on an RBI double by Phillies’ third baseman Maikel Franco against Oliver Perez in the top of the seventh.
After giving up a home run in all three games to Bryce Harper, the Phillies were able to keep Harper in the ballpark last night. Pete Mackanin, the Phillies’ manager, decided to walk the reigning MVP intentionally twice. However, Jeanmar Gomez, the Phillies’ closer, had to face Harper in the ninth as the winning run, but he ended up getting him to groundout to short.
Plus, there was more bad news for the Washington Nationals last night as Matt Belisle had to leave the game after throwing three pitches. Here is what manager Dusty Baker had to say after the game about Belisle’s injury:
Matt Belisle has a calf strain, per Dusty. Severity unknown right now.
— James Wagner (@ByJamesWagner) April 27, 2016
Before Gio Gonzalez takes on Jeremy Hellickson tonight (7:05 p.m ET, MASN), here are my three takeaways from last night’s 4-3 loss:
Next: Scherzer's 1st Inning Woes Continue
Scherzer’s 1st Inning Woes Continue
It’s a surprise early on in the season that the Washington Nationals are 14-5 and that their ace is statistically their worst pitcher right now. While there’s no need to panic about Scherzer’s struggles only one month into the season, his first inning woes are something that stand out.
Back in 2015, Scherzer gave up 11 first inning runs, which was second on the team behind Jordan Zimmermann (16). So far, in just five starts this season, he has given up eight runs, which is the most on the team and tied with Alfredo Simon (Reds) for most in the league.
The problem for Scherzer last night was his command. His four walks were the most he has had in any start as a member of the Washington Nationals. Two of those walks were to Odubel Herrera, who has now four career walks against Scherzer.
As the Nats’ ace told the media after the game, the issue for him was his fastball command:
Scherzer: "Just don’t have great fastball location. My fastball is in a little bit of a funk right now. ... I kinda know what I need to do."
— James Wagner (@ByJamesWagner) April 27, 2016
However, despite getting in numerous jams, Scherzer was able to hold the Phillies to only three runs on seven hits, and struck out seven on 116 pitches (79 strikes). That run total could’ve been higher if not for Anthony Rendon’s excellent double play in the top of the fifth.
Even when Scherzer isn’t on his game, he is still able to battle through a start and put up a quality outing to keep his team in the game. While there is no panic yet on Scherzer’s slow start, there should definitely be some concern.
Next: Phillies' New Strategy Vs. Harper
Phillies New Strategy Against Harper
With Bryce Harper off to such a great start, it’s been a surprise all season that teams had not intentionally walked him more often. Before last night’s loss, the reigning NL MVP had only been intentionally walked twice this season. Last night, the Phillies equaled that total.
While Harper wasn’t intentionally walked by Velasquez in the first, the Phillies’ right-hander did pitch around him and walked him on five pitches. Then, he was given the free pass intentionally in the third and the seventh.
However, the one spot where they should’ve walked him when they didn’t was the fifth. Velasquez got ahead of Harper 0-2, but he stayed patient and found a way to hit a 97 mile per hour fastball into left for a single to drive in Michael Taylor and cut the lead to a run.
Then, after an intentional walk in the seventh, Harper came up to at-bat as the winning run against Jeanmar Gomez, who he homered off of in their last meeting. During that at-bat, he fouled off four straight pitches from behind 1-2 in the count, but he ended up grounding out on a changeup to end the game.
You would think that a lot of teams would follow the Phillies model during the season of giving Harper the free base. However, it was good to see the Nats’ right fielder continue to stay patient and even come through with another RBI for the team, albeit in a losing effort.
Next: More Opportunities For Zimmerman
More Opportunities For Ryan Zimmerman
If Harper is going to be receiving more intentional walks, it’s going to be up to Ryan Zimmerman to take full advantage of those opportunities. Last night, in both of his chances to score runs off the walks, the first baseman failed to capitalize.
In the third inning, with two men on, Zimmerman popped up to Cameron Rupp behind the plate to end the inning. Then, in the seventh, with two men on again, he struck out looking on a David Hernandez curveball to end that inning.
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While it is a small sample size, Zimmerman is hitting .214 with runners in scoring position (3-for-14) with five RBi’s. The only three regular position players with lower averages in that situation than Zimmerman are Anthony Rendon (.158), Jayson Werth (.118), and Michael Taylor (.083).
Next: Scherzer Delivers Gutsy Performance, But Nats Fall Short
Now, I wouldn’t be too concerned by those numbers because the Nats are off to a good start. However, if Zimmerman doesn’t get more hits in those situations, it wouldn’t be a big surprise if Daniel Murphy moved up to the cleanup spot, since he is off to a great start to his 2016 season (.394 batting average and .385 with runners in scoring position).
Right now, teams like the Phillies are going to walk Harper more often and make Zimmerman beat them. It’s up to the Washington Nationals’ first baseman to make teams pay for that decision and drive in more runs in order for this offense to produce on a consistent basis.